For the last two weeks, the Illinois volleyball team has treated every game like a must-win.
That mentality is now a reality.
Illinois (11-14, 5-10 Big Ten) suffered a three-set drubbing at the hands of No. 2 Penn State (24-2, 14-1) on Thursday, 25-17, 25-17, 25-14. The Illini must now win their final five games of the season to finish with a record better than .500 to become eligible for the NCAA tournament.
Illinois entered Thursday night’s match in State College, Pa., with confidence and purpose, having taken Penn State to the precipice of defeat in the two teams’ first meeting this season, with the Nittany Lions staving off four match points in the fifth set before claiming victory.
This time around, though, Penn State made quick work of Illinois, cruising to a sweep in little more than one hour’s time.
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Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly was subdued after the game, saying the players’ morale took a hit from the loss.
“I can speculate that it’s not real high right now,” he said. “We just got our asses kicked.”
Penn State led for nearly the entire match Thursday, jumping to a 10-2 lead in the first set from which it never looked back. Illinois appeared out of sorts early, making numerous hitting and service errors on the way to a 25-17 first set loss that seemed to leech away any confidence the Illini gained from their win over the Hoosiers last week.
Illinois’ only lead of the match came during the first half of the second set, when the team showed signs of life while clawing to a 15-12 lead. But showing why it’s the nation’s No. 2 team, Penn State turned that disadvantage into a dominating run, the likes of which are not often seen in volleyball.
With Illinois leading 17-16, Penn State reeled off nine straight points to storm back and win the set 25-17. And the momentum did not stop there. The Illini’s bleeding continued at a critical rate coming out of the break, as the Nittany Lions bolted to a commanding 14-1 lead in the third set. Combined between the two sets, Penn State won 23-of-24 points, gained a stranglehold on the game and put Illinois’ season on life support.
“That was the best serving we’ve seen,” Hambly said of the Nittany Lions’ run. “They served great and we were just out of system the whole time.”
During the loss, the Illini’s outside hitters struggled more than they had all season, with Ali Stark, Jocelynn Birks and Liz McMahon all hitting for a negative hitting efficiency Thursday. As a team, Illinois hit just .034 and made 23 hitting errors and 10 service errors.
“That’s why we lost,” Hambly said.
Illinois’ postseason hopes are now hanging by a thread. The stretch begins Saturday in what looks to be the toughest of the games, at No. 15 Ohio State (19-8, 10-5). The Buckeyes came back from a 2-0 set deficit to defeat the Illini at Huff Hall earlier this season.
Daniel can be reached at [email protected].
